In your flower garden
First-year flowering perennials can be started from seed for a beautiful display
Spring isn’t far away but it’s still a bit too early to sow most annuals for our summer gardens. However, there are some flowers we can sow now and these are perennials that flower in their first year. They’re extremely useful plants, providing colour and scent in the first summer and blooming again for several years to come.
They need to be sown fairly early to bloom well the first year. They can be sown later, right into summer, but this may not produce flowers until the following year. Check seed catalogues and packets to see if the plants will bloom the first year. Aquilegias, most foxgloves and sweet Williams won’t bloom in the first season, however early they are sown, because the plants need a winter chill to promote flowering. But a few varieties, such as foxglove ‘Foxy’ and sweet William ‘Noverna’ can be grown as annuals.
Sow thinly in pots or trays of fresh, multi-purpose compost; cover with Perlite or Vermiculite. Keep in a propagator at about 21C; after germination, move seedlings to a cool, bright, frost-free spot.
There are other perennials that will bloom in the first year and are an inexpensive way to fill a new garden, including echinacea, verbena, coreopsis, delphinium, nepeta and penstemon.
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These have aromatic leaves and upright stems. Bees and butterflies adore their clusters of tubular flowers in many shades.
A sun-lover that thrives in dry soils and forms clumps of greyish leaves as well as a long display of papery blue flowers that can be dried.
With large seeds that are easy to sow, these are available in tall and dwarf kinds to add colour and scent to your summer garden.
Simple to grow and available in bright and pastel mixtures, these flourish in any sunny spot and are good for wildlife.
Cut frosted shoots off shrubs
Last month’s cold weather damaged a lot of plants in the garden. It’s usually only a few months later that we discover just what damage has been caused but it’s sometimes very visible on slightly tender, evergreen shrubs. If the weather is mild and hard frosts are not likely, tackle this damage and cut off any obviously frosted shoots to tidy them up. Don’t despair if plants look badly damaged because they may sprout from near the base, where new shoots appear, as late as May or June.
Thin leaves on aspidistra
Aspidistras are wonderful, tough foliage plants and easy to look after as they’ll forgive occasional neglect. If the plant has outgrown its pot or container, thin the leaves to give the plant some room to expand. Cut old, yellow or brown leaves to the base with secateurs – dead leaves usually pull
